Teachings From Ancient Vietnamese Zen Masters – 40
14 The Mind of Emptiness
Like a wall shaking, the body is frail.
So sad for mankind, life is too short.
If you attain the mind of emptiness and formlessness,
you will be free from the world of coming and going.
VIEN CHIEU (999-1090)
(COMMENT: You can feel the frailness of your body now, even when
you are healthy and strong. Try this: breathe in and out, gently and
naturally; feel the breathing in and out, feel your whole body breathing;
feel your whole body becoming one with the breath. Then you will see
that your breath is so fragile, and your body is so vulnerable.
The more you experience the bliss from meditation, the more you feel
sorrowful for the plight of humankind.
Recalling the Buddha’s words saying that we have born and died
countless times, you will feel grateful to countless parents, and will see
all people around as your dear parents in past lives. Then you will feel
your whole body deeply resonate with the Zen vow to save all sentient
beings. How can we save others if we are not free yet? Zen master Vien
Chieu said that leaners must attain the mind of emptiness and
formlessness. Indeed, you will see that the mind essence is empty and
formless. So all things in the world appear and disappear in the mind
just like the clouds formed and dissolved in the sky, just like the images
emerged and vanished in a mirror.
So all the forms you see, all the sounds you hear, all the odors you
smell, all the flavors you taste, all the senses you feel, all the thoughts
you have are changing swiftly. So nothing has a self. So all things come
and go, governed by the principle of dependent arising. Realizing the
mind essence will free you from the world of coming and going.)
